Reading Tools

We are proud to announce that for the first time, the Central Sinama to English Dictionary is available for download as an app from Google Play. This dictionary has a wealth of information on the Sinama language. Version 1.0 has 13,325 entries in Sinama and 10,455 English reversal entries. The work of compiling this dictionary […]

Trying to help classrooms that use the Sinama language for mother tongue multi-lingual education can be a very educating experience in itself. Take for instance the newly released fruit and vegetable poster for the Sinama language. We based the poster off of a children’s song that is a part of our Sinama Children’s Song App. The song was developed for a classroom of Sama children who can trace their roots back to Siasi, Sulu. These are the words that I have learned for these fruits, they are the words used by my wife and they are also used by both children and adults in the community. Take a look at the version made with this community in mind:

Maybe your first objection starts at the title. Many might object. After all Bungang-Kahuy is easily recognized as the Tausug for fruits. The Sinama-English dictionary has it listed as a loaned word and the fact that it is the word used in this Mindanao Sama community which has grown up away from Sulu and direct Tausug influence seems to hint that the word has been used in Sinama for quite some time. The poster is developed for a specific classroom in mind and so we have kept the terms and title that they need.

Major dialect differences can also be observed in some of the names for the fruits. Due to the differences between Sama Siasi and Sama Dilaut we had to develop a specific poster for the Sama Dilaut dialect:

On this poster you can see that “Mampallam” for mango was changed to “Mangga”. Multiple language consultants explained that a ripe mango is “Mangga” and a green mango is “Mampallam”. This is at least true for the Sama Dilaut of Davao. It is possible that the reason for this is that generally Sama would prefer to eat mango while it is unripe and are less familiar with it when ripe and so they are using the word common in other languages. Also the word “Timun” becomes “Biyayung” a completely new word to me not yet included in the Sinama-English dictionary. “Timun” for these Sama Dilaut is cantelope. The title for this new poster which will also be used in specific classrooms in Davao is “Buwa’-Tinanom maka Sayul.”

These slight changes among dialects make material development for Sinama languages quite a challenge. We however remain committed to making useful educational tools for Sama classrooms. Therefore our download link will give you a zip file for both variants of the poster. If your Sinama has different variants than what is represented in the two posters above, please feel free to contact us and we can prepare the image file for your specific Sinama.

Batang-Sulat ma Sinama Batang-Sulat is the Sinama for “Letters”. Literacy has been going on in the Sinama language since at least the early 1970s. Materials to help teach mother tongue speakers of Sinama how to read are continually increasing in number, quality, and especially availability. There are 22 Batang-Sulat in Sinama, ABDE ꞌ GHIJKLMN Ng […]

Sinama Big Book Series Si Kalbaw maka Si Kallo’ is taken from the folklore of Mindanao. It is an anecdote for why the carabao doesn’t seem to care when the white heron perches on his back. The pictures below are designed to be downloaded and printed on A4 paper (8.27 x 11.69).

Sinama Big Book Series Maglomba’ si Rabit maka si Bokko’ is the story of the rabbit and the turtle told in the context of the Philippines. The pictures below are designed to be downloaded and printed on legal paper (8.5 x 14). Clear tape should be used to tape front pages and back pages together […]

I went on a short trip to Tinoto, Sarangani to inquire about the teaching efforts being made towards Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education. The school there is Datu Abdulbali Elementary School. There are over 700 students with the majority of these being Sama speakers. The founder of the school and its first principal was a […]

I am always pleased every time I come across a minority language website from the various Muslim Filipino tribes. The grassroots efforts to make a name on the worldwide web for languages like: Tausug, Maguindanaon, Yakan, Kaagan and of course my beloved Sinama is hard work with little reward. The significance of such sites and […]